1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for integrating electronic mail and network resources into a workflow system.
2. Description of Related Art
Workflow systems are a key technology for supporting, executing, controlling, and documenting business processes. Workflow systems automate processes and allow documents, information, and/or tasks to be tracked and/or transferred between and/or among users and/or systems efficiently and effectively.
Workflow systems work, in part, by interpreting the definitions of the process and invoking the appropriate resources necessary for the various steps of the process. Workflow systems also control interactions between and/or among the users and/or other applications. Additionally, workflow systems usually provide supervisory or administrative functions, allow tasks to be reassigned, increased, or audited, and manage information for a process or for one of a number specific process instances. Workflow systems are often used in business areas such as insurance, banking, legal, and general administration. Workflow systems can also be helpful in some industrial and manufacturing operations.
An important element of workflow systems is document management. Businesses have increasing needs to transmit documents or portions of documents between and/or among individuals and/or organizations. Often, these documents must be sequenced and/or completed within a set period of time. With key personnel often spread over wide geographical areas and with the demand for timely execution, using workflow systems to manage and control documentation keeps the business process efficient and helps organizations remain competitive.